April 29, 2014

Horse 1663 - What Would Jesus Say to Sarah Palin?

http://news.sky.com/story/1250770/sarah-palin-waterboarding-is-how-we-baptise"Liberals are hypocrites. And they are not right.(They have) policies that poke our allies in the eye and coddle adversaries instead of putting the fear of God in our enemies.Come on, (these are) enemies who would utterly annihilate America ... who would obviously have information on plots to carry out jihad.Oh, but you can't offend them ... can't make them feel uncomfortable ... not even a smidgen.Well, if I were in charge ... they would know that waterboarding is how we baptise terrorists.Thank God that more and more Americans are waking up to the hypocrisy and some of the nefarious intent of them, in Washington."
- Sarah Palin, as quoted by Sky News, 28th April 2014

I wonder what Jesus would say to Sarah Palin...

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
- Matthew 5:38-45

Technically I suppose that waterboarding does strictly fulfil the definition of "baptism" as derived from the Greek verb "baptizo" which means "to dip" but I still fail to understand how carrying out torture "puts the fear of God" into anyone.
Nevermind the fact that John McCain who Sarah Palin ran with during the 2008 Presidential Election who himself had been subject to torture as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War had this to say on the subject:

It's perhaps telling that the United States although it signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, never ratified it; especially considering that Article 5 states that:No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

It's also telling that whilst the United States did ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture, it frequently ignores this; especially when torture is carried out in places that aren't technically on US soil.

Maybe more and more Americans are waking up to the hypocrisy and some of the nefarious intent of them, in Washington. Especially when that nefarious intent is directly spelled out in as many words.

Again I wonder what Jesus would say to Sarah Palin. Have a cup of tea with your enemies? Speak to them? Try to understand them? Forgive them? See them as yourself, someone who is loved by God? Maybe "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven"?